It was another thrilling weekend in the Guinness PRO14 as Round 16 produced tries galore, dramatic late comebacks and results which shook up the Conference A and B standings.

Glasgow Warriors continued their Final Series push with a comfortable win over Connacht, while there were also impressive victories for Ulster, Leinster and Benetton Rugby.

Elsewhere, Cardiff Blues got back to winning ways against Edinburgh, while Munster edged out Ospreys and Scarlets dispatched Toyota Cheetahs in style.

Here are all the talking points from the weekend’s games.

Glasgow Warriors 43-17 Connacht

1. Glasgow Warriors took a huge step forward in the race for the Guinness PRO14 Final Series race with a comprehensive victory over Conference A rivals Connacht. Dave Rennie’s side were at their clinical best as they closed to within a point of Munster at the top of the table, while their bonus-point triumph moved them 14 points clear of Connacht, who slipped to fourth place after Cardiff Blues leapfrogged them with victory at Edinburgh.
1. George Horne was making his first appearance since injuring his shoulder in Glasgow’s Champions Cup defeat to Saracens a month ago and the scrum-half made an instant impact on his return to the starting line-up. He scored the opening try within 45 seconds after latching on to Kyle Steyn’s pass as the hosts got off to a rapid start at Scotstoun Stadium, while he also provided the assist for Tim Swinson’s try.
1. It always looked like an uphill task for Connacht in the second half as they took to the field after the restart with a 19-point deficit and down to 14 men. Grant Stewart’s second try of the game added to the visitors’ misery, but they showed plenty of character to follow up Stephen Fitzgerald’s first-half try with further scores from Paul Boyle and Tom Daly as they came agonisingly close to claiming a four-try bonus-point.

Ulster 54-7 Zebre

1. Ulster found the magic formula and stuck to it. When Zebre were reduced to 14, the Ulstermen capitalised on their extra power up front and once they’d scored one easy try off the back of a driving maul line-out they knew they had Zebre on the ropes. Five minutes later they repeated the feat, Rob Herring again at the back to dive over, before doing it a third time on the half-hour mark.
1. Ulster made 50 carries overall, compared to Zebre’s 37, and it was their use of the crash balls up the middle before whipping out wide to their pacemen that proved effective. Rob Lyttle stepped up on the wing, knocking over a few conversions as well as providing a threat with his pace – not to mention rapid speedster Rob Baloucoune, who also got on the scoresheet as a reward for his efforts throughout.
1. Zebre lost their heads. Poor discipline made it easier for Ulster to exploit the space when James Brown was yellow carded, and the game plan of trying to rattle the Ulstermen by roughing them up at the breakdown wasn’t effective in the long run.

Leinster 59-19 Isuzu Southern Kings

Leinster may be dominating at the top of Conference B and were comfortable winners against the Kings but head coach Leo Cullen said there is still much to work on defensively: “The win and bonus point is good for us and keeps us ticking along in our conference. There are parts that we will look at, particularly defensively, where we got pulled apart by Kings. We are scoring plenty, but as we get into our finals rugby at the end of the season, you are playing good rugby and ship 19 points. Suddenly you are under pressure. It’s definitely something that we want to shore up.”
Whilst Leinster were no doubt pleased to score nine tries one of those that Cullen was disappointed to concede was a real peach from the Kings, just after half-time. Attacking from a midfield scrum, Sarel Pretorius passed out to fly-half Bader-Werner Pretorius, who skipped past one tackle, accelerated and then drew a tackle before feeding Ulrich Beyers for the try of the match.
Leinster will no doubt be pleased with the five-point win and in particular with a number of standout performances from their players. Noel Reid grabbed a double, as did prop Ed Byrne, who won the man-of-the-match award for an industrious performance throughout. Ireland prop Andrew Porter also stood out and scored a try of his own, while fly-half Ross Byrne was a measure of control at No.10 and pulled the strings with aplomb.

Benetton Rugby 57-7 Dragons

Benetton’s charge for a top-two place in Conference B is well and truly on. Despite missing 15 players to international duty, they dug deep and put in one of the most remarkable performances in their recent history to continue their imperious run of results.
In an historic afternoon for Italian rugby in the context of the Guinness PRO14, Benetton ran up a 50-point winning margin, crushing their own record for a side from the country. The previous best came back in 2017 when they beat the Southern Kings by just 28 points – paltry in comparison.
The Dragons’ woes away from Rodney Parade go on as they continue their search for a victory on the road. The last time they won on their travels was back in March 2015, a record that sits in stark opposition to their stirring performances of late in Newport.

Ospreys 13-19 Munster

Munster kept up the pace at the top of Conference A as they ground out a vital result at the Liberty Stadium against a resilient Ospreys side. Glasgow Warriors’ win sent them temporarily top, but the Irish side held on despite late pressure to lead by the slimmest of margins at the summit of the table.
Ospreys will rue the moment that Sam Cross swatted away Tadhg Beirne’s foot-of-the-post effort. The resulting penalty try and yellow card stunted their progress as they looked to take an advantage into the break. Instead Munster were able to see out the end of the first half and control the start of the second.
The irrepressible Beirne once again showed his value to the Red Army with a man-of-the-match display. His forced penalty try was equally as crucial as the Ospreys line-out he stole at the death as the hosts searched for a try that could have spelt disaster for Munster.

Edinburgh 17-19 Cardiff Blues

Edinburgh appeared to be coasting to victory at half-time, building a comfortable 14-0 lead through converted tries from Nathan Fowles and Bill Mata. But the momentum swung violently in favour of Cardiff Blues in the second half after Lloyd Williams got his side on the board for the first time. Richard Cockerill will be wondering how his side let the game slip away from them and the dropped points could prove very costly in the long run.
Cardiff were on the backfoot for much of the first half as Edinburgh pinned them back with their kicking game, but they looked a different side after their first try. The introduction of Jason Harries in the second half proved key as he crossed twice against his former side before the Blues’ breakdown specialists came to the fore to win a crucial turnover as Edinburgh pressed for a response in the final ten minutes.
The Blues love playing at BT Murrayfield. They had already won on six of their last seven visits to Edinburgh before taking to the field on Saturday and they emerged triumphant again move them up to third in Conference A. Aled Summerhill, who scored a hat-trick last time out against Glasgow Warriors, was the star man once again and it was his magnificent build-up play that put Harries in for the match-winning try.

Scarlets 43-21 Toyota Cheetahs

Scarlets started fast and all-but wrapped the game up in the opening quarter as they ran in four tries. Uzair Cassiem, Johnny McNicholl, Kieron Fonotia and Josh Macleod all took their chances as the Welsh side overpowered their opponents in the opening exchanges.
The second score for the visitors late in the first half showed what they were all about as they broke from inside their own half to touch down. Rabs Maxwane dabbed down after Junior Pokomela broke from inside his own half. His offload was kicked through by Abongile Nonkontwana with the outside of his heel to release the winger, who dabbed down for his 12th try in the competition.
Wales and Scarlets full-back Leigh Halfpenny made his return to rugby after more than three months out, having suffered concussion in an international match against Australia in November. He was five from six with kick attempts as he grabbed 11 points in the win for Wayne Pivac’s men.